Download or read book From Sickles to Circles written by Alex J. S. Gibson and published by Revealing History (Paperback). This book was released on 2004 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the period 4000–1000 BC, prehistoric Britain and Ireland were at their closest. There were significant differences, but at the same time their monuments, art, and artifacts were closely related. This volume brings together the latest research from some 25 prehistorians on both sides of the Irish Sea to produce a clearly written and well-illustrated academic guide to this period.

Download or read book The Use and reuse of stone circles written by Courtney Nimura and published by Oxbow Books Limited. This book was released on 2016-09-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of stone circles has long played a major role in British and Irish archaeology, and for Scotland most attention has been focused on the large monuments of Orkney and the Western Isles. Several decades of fieldwork have shown how these major structures are likely to be of early date and recognised that that smaller settings of monoliths had a more extended history. Many of the structures in Northern Britain were reused during the later Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the early medieval period. A series of problems demand further investigation including: when were the last stone circles built? How did they differ from earlier constructions? How were they related to henge monuments, especially those of Bronze Age date? How frequently were these places reused, and did this secondary activity change the character of those sites? This major new assessment first presents the results of fieldwork undertaken at the Scottish recumbent stone circle of Hillhead; the stone circles of Waulkmill and Croftmoraig, the stone circle and henge at Hill of Tuach at Kintore; and the small ring cairn at Laikenbuie in Inverness-shire. Part 2 brings together the results of these five projects and puts forward a chronology for the construction and primary use of stone circles, particularly the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age examples. It considers the reuse of stone circles, long after they were built, and discusses four neighbouring stone circles in Aberdeenshire which display both similarites and contrasts in their architecture, use of raw materials, associated artefacts and structural sequences. Finally, a reassessment and reinterpretation of Croftmoraig and its sequence is presented: the new interpretation drawing attention to ways of thinking about these monuments which have still to fulfil their potential.

Download or read book Crop Circles for Beginners written by Harry Eilenstein and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2021-06-14 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since about 1985, crop circles have become a more well-known phenomenon. In the meantime, about 10,000 crop circles have appeared in more than 50 countries. However, well over half of them come from southern England in the area of Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Silbury Hill, White Horse and other prehistoric monuments. Some of them can be proved to have been made by humans, but others just as certainly have not been made by humans - this is not the starting situation one would wish for as a researcher ... In the present book 300 of these crop circles are examined more closely. It turns out that they contain approx. 100 elements which appear in many crop circles. Their geometrical form has an easily recognizable meaning. Therefore, with the help of these "words", the crop circles composed of them can be read like "sentences". The meaning is almost always the same: a representation of how individuality unfolds. Therefore, there are many similarities with astrology or the chakra system, for example. This analytical approach is complemented by 50 dream journeys into individual crop circles, which makes the picture that arises from the analytical observation of the crop circles even more rounded. Thereby a first impression can be gained of the language of the collective subconsciousness - which words and which grammar it uses: It is a "music of geometry".

Download or read book Neolithic of Mainland Scotland written by Kenneth Brophy and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2016-03-16 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Archaeologists show us how the Neolithic human lived in mainland ScotlandWhat was life like in Scotland between 4000 and 2000BC? Where were people living? How did they treat their dead? Why did they spend so much time building extravagant ritual monuments? What was special about the relationship people had with trees and holes in the ground? What can we say about how people lived in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age of mainland Scotland where much of the evidence we have lies beneath the ploughsoil, or survives as slumped banks and ditches, or ruinous megaliths?Each contribution to this volume presents fresh research and radical new interpretations of the pits, postholes, ditches, rubbish dumps, human remains and broken potsherds left behind by our Neolithic forebears.From the APFWhat was life like in Scotland between 4000 and 2000BC? Where were people living? How did they treat their dead? Why did they spend so much time building extravagant ritual monuments? What was special about the relationship people had with trees? Why was so much time and effort spent digging holes and filling them back up again? What can we say about how people lived in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age of mainland Scotland where much of the evidence we have lies beneath the plough soil, or survives as slumped banks and filled ditches, or ruinous megaliths?This book will draw together leading experts and young researchers to present fresh research and outline radical new interpretations of the pits, postholes, ditches, rubbish dumps, human remains and broken potsherds left behind by our Neolithic forebears. Much of this evidence has come to light in the past few decades, putting the emphasis very much lowland, mainland Scotland as opposed to more famous Orcadian Neolithic sites. Inspired by the work of Gordon Barclay, the leading scholars of Scotland's Neolithic in the last 40 years, the chapters in this book offer a wide-ranging analysis of the evidence we have for the first farmers in Scotland.

Download or read book Pagan Britain written by Ronald Hutton and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-13 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Britain's pagan past, with its mysterious monuments, atmospheric sites, enigmatic artifacts, bloodthirsty legends, and cryptic inscriptions, is both enthralling and perplexing to a resident of the twenty-first century. In this ambitious and thoroughly up-to-date book, Ronald Hutton reveals the long development, rapid suppression, and enduring cultural significance of paganism, from the Paleolithic Era to the coming of Christianity. He draws on an array of recently discovered evidence and shows how new findings have radically transformed understandings of belief and ritual in Britain before the arrival of organized religion. Setting forth a chronological narrative, Hutton along the way makes side visits to explore specific locations of ancient pagan activity. He includes the well-known sacred sites—Stonehenge, Avebury, Seahenge, Maiden Castle, Anglesey—as well as more obscure locations across the mainland and coastal islands. In tireless pursuit of the elusive “why” of pagan behavior, Hutton astonishes with the breadth of his understanding of Britain’s deep past and inspires with the originality of his insights.

Download or read book A View from the West written by Vicki Cummings and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2009-11-13 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the heart of this study are the early Neolithic chambered tombs of the Irish Sea zone, defined as west Wales, the west coast of northern Britain, coastal south and western Scotland, the western isles and the Isle of Man, and the eastern coast of Ireland. In order to understand these monuments, there must be a broader consideration of their landscape settings. The landscape setting of the chambered tombs is considered in detail, both overall and through a number of specific case studies, incorporating a much wider area than has been previously considered. Cummings investigates the background against which the Neolithic began in the Irish Sea zone and what led to the adoption of Neolithic practices, such as the construction of monuments. Following on from this, she considers what the chambered tombs and landscape can add to our understanding of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. This volume aims to incorporate landscape analysis into a broader understanding of the Neolithic sequence in this area and beyond. It will provide an introduction to the Mesolithic and Neolithic of the Irish Sea zone, as well as a summary of previous work on this subject. It also offers a starting point for future research and a better understanding of this area.

Download or read book The Neolithic of Britain and Ireland written by Vicki Cummings and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Neolithic of Britain and Ireland provides a synthesis of this dynamic period of prehistory from the end of the Mesolithic through to the early Beaker period. Drawing on new excavations and the application of new scientific approaches to data from this period, this book considers both life and death in the Neolithic. It offers a clear and concise introduction to this period but with an emphasis on the wider and on-going research questions. It is an important text for students new to the study of this period of prehistory as well as acting as a reference for students and scholars already researching this area. The book begins by considering the Mesolithic prelude, specifically the millennium prior to the start of the Neolithic in Britain and Ireland. It then goes on to consider what life was like for people at the time, alongside the monumental record and how people treated the dead. This is presented chronologically, with separate chapters on the early Neolithic, middle Neolithic, late Neolithic and early Beaker periods. Finally it considers future research priorities for the study of the Neolithic.

Download or read book Bronze Age Worlds written by Robert Johnston and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-26 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bronze Age Worlds brings a new way of thinking about kinship to the task of explaining the formation of social life in Bronze Age Britain and Ireland. Britain and Ireland’s diverse landscapes and societies experienced varied and profound transformations during the twenty-fifth to eighth centuries BC. People’s lives were shaped by migrations, changing beliefs about death, making and thinking with metals, and living in houses and field systems. This book offers accounts of how these processes emerged from social life, from events, places and landscapes, informed by a novel theory of kinship. Kinship was a rich and inventive sphere of culture that incorporated biological relations but was not determined by them. Kinship formed personhood and collective belonging, and associated people with nonhuman beings, things and places. The differences in kinship and kinwork across Ireland and Britain brought textures to social life and the formation of Bronze Age worlds. Bronze Age Worlds offers new perspectives to archaeologists and anthropologists interested in the place of kinship in Bronze Age societies and cultural development.

Download or read book The Handbook of British Archaeology written by Roy Lesley Adkins and published by Constable. This book was released on 2017-04-13 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over 25 years The Handbook of British Archaeology has been the foremost guide to archaeological methods, artefacts and monuments, providing clear explanations of all specialist terms used by archaeologists. This completely revised and updated edition is packed with the latest information and now includes the most recent developments in archaeological science. Meticulously researched, every section has been extensively updated by a team of experts. There are chapters devoted to each of the archaeological periods found in Britain, as well as two chapters on techniques and the nature of archaeological remains. All the common artefacts, types of sites and current theories and methods are covered. The growing interest in post-medieval and industrial archaeology is fully explored in a brand new section dealing with these crucial periods. Hundreds of new illustrations enable instant comparison and identification of objects and monuments - from Palaeolithic handaxes to post-medieval gravestones. Several maps pinpoint the key sites, and other features include an extensive bibliography and a detailed index. The Handbook of British Archaeology is the most comprehensive resource book available and is essential for anyone with an interest in the subject - from field archaeologists and academics to students, heritage professionals, Time Team followers and amateur enthusiasts.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age written by Anthony Harding and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2013-06-27 with total page 1016 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of the European Bronze Age is a wide-ranging survey of a crucial period in prehistory during which many social, economic, and technological changes took place. Written by expert specialists in the field, the book provides coverage both of the themes that characterize the period, and of the specific developments that took place in the various countries of Europe. After an introduction and a discussion of chronology, successive chapters deal with settlement studies, burial analysis, hoards and hoarding, monumentality, rock art, cosmology, gender, and trade, as well as a series of articles on specific technologies and crafts (such as transport, metals, glass, salt, textiles, and weighing). The second half of the book covers each country in turn. From Ireland to Russia, Scandinavia to Sicily, every area is considered, and up to date information on important recent finds is discussed in detail. The book is the first to consider the whole of the European Bronze Age in both geographical and thematic terms, and will be the standard book on the subject for the foreseeable future.

Download or read book The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland written by Richard Bradley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-03-05 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sited at the furthest limits of the Neolithic revolution and standing at the confluence of the two great sea routes of prehistory, Britain and Ireland are distinct from continental Europe for much of the prehistoric sequence. In this landmark 2007 study - the first significant survey of the archaeology of Britain and Ireland for twenty years - Richard Bradley offers an interpretation of the unique archaeological record of these islands based on a wealth of current and largely unpublished data. Bradley surveys the entire archaeological sequence over a 4,000 year period, from the adoption of agriculture in the Neolithic period to the discovery of Britain and Ireland by travellers from the Mediterranean during the later pre-Roman Iron Age. Significantly, this is the first modern account to treat Britain and Ireland on equal terms, offering a detailed interpretation of the prehistory of both islands.

Download or read book Axe heads and Identity written by Katharine Walker and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2018-01-31 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume seeks to re-assess the significance accorded to the body of stone and flint axe-heads imported into Britain from the Continent which have until now often been poorly understood, overlooked and undervalued in Neolithic studies.

Download or read book Grave Goods written by Anwen Cooper and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A large-scale investigation into grave goods (c. 4000 BC-AD 43), enabling a new level of understanding of mortuary practice, material culture, technological innovation and social transformation.

Download or read book Semiotic analysis of Trypillia Cucuteni sign systems written by Yaroslav Melnyk and published by Oleksandr Melnyk. This book was released on 2021-04-08 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is devoted to the study of ornaments of one of the brightest cultures of the Eneolithic territories of Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania. The study proposes the study of ornamentalistics in synchrony and diachrony in terms of semiotics, which in turn allowed to obtain new data on the functioning of ornamentation of hand-drawn dishes of Trypillia-Cucuteni. The book is aimed at specialists in the field of semiotics, cultural studies, history, and the general reading public.

Download or read book The Swing Around the Circle written by Garry Boulard and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2008 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1866, President Andrew Johnson was trying to find solutions to a bewildering array of immediate post-Civil War challenges: what to do about the recently liberated slaves, how to bring the South back into the Union, whether or not former members of the Confederacy should be pardoned and forgiven for their war time acts and building a thriving national economy that would provide jobs for millions of new veterans. Confronted with an increasingly assertive Congress that had been frustrated by its lack of influence during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, Johnson decided to take his case directly to the American people for the fall mid-term elections of 1866, becoming the first president in history to actively engage in a political campaign. In a trade ride in which he was joined by the hero Ulysses S. Grant, the very young George Armstrong Custer, and the legendary William Seward, the secretary of state who was viciously attacked on the same night that Lincoln was murdered, Johnson spoke to hundreds of thousands of voters from New York to Chicago and St. Louis. But because of his confrontational, intemperate rhetorical style and habit of engaging hecklers in direct verbal battle, Johnson alienated more people than he won over, resulting not only in a thumping defeat for his cause at the polls, but a move to impeach and remove him from office by opponents who were convinced that Johnson's behavior on the Swing Around the Circle showed that he was mentally unbalanced. Repeatedly referred to by historians and reporters in the decades since, the Swing Around the Circle has never been explored in one single book until now.

Download or read book Railway Review written by and published by . This book was released on 1892 with total page 890 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Development of Neolithic House Societies in Orkney written by Colin Richards and published by Windgather Press. This book was released on 2016-04-30 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Considering that Orkney is a group of relatively small islands lying off the northeast coast of the Scottish mainland, its wealth of Neolithic archaeology is truly extraordinary. An assortment of houses, chambered cairns, stone circles, standing stones and passage graves provides an unusually comprehensive range of archaeological and architectural contexts. Yet, in the early 1990s, there was a noticeable imbalance between 4th and 3rd millennium cal BC evidence, with house structures, and ‘villages’ being well represented in the latter but minimally in the former. As elsewhere in the British Isles, the archaeological visibility of the 4th millennium cal BC in Orkney tends to be dominated by the monumental presence of chambered cairns or tombs. In the 1970s Claude Lévi-Strauss conceived of a form of social organization based upon the ‘house’ – sociétés à maisons – in order to provide a classification for social groups that appeared not to conform to established anthropological kinship structures. In this approach, the anchor point is the ‘house’, understood as a conceptual resource that is a consequence of a strategy of constructing and legitimizing identities under ever shifting social conditions. Drawing on the results of an extensive program of fieldwork in the Bay of Firth, Mainland Orkney, the text explores the idea that the physical appearance of the house is a potent resource for materializing the dichotomous alliance and descent principles apparent in the archaeological evidence for the early and later Neolithic of Orkney. It argues that some of the insights made by Lévi-Strauss in his basic formulation of sociétés à maisons are extremely relevant to interpreting the archaeological evidence and providing the parameters for a ‘social’ narrative of the material changes occurring in Orkney between the 4th and 2nd millennia cal BC. The major excavations undertaken during the Cuween-Wideford Landscape Project provided an unprecedented depth and variety of evidence for Neolithic occupation, bridging the gap between domestic and ceremonial architecture and form, exploring the transition from wood to stone and relationships between the living and the dead and the role of material culture. The results are described and discussed in detail here, enabling tracing of the development and fragmentation of sociétés à maisons over a 1500 year period of Northern Isles prehistory.